A posting of my weekend homilies, and others. Recently, there have been problems listening to my podcasts if you are using the *Chrome browser*. If you have tried and not been able to hear the message, try a different browser. If you missed an earlier homily, contact me, I probably still have the file. I welcome your comments: fejindra@gmail.com

Una vez más, esta noche sólo he traducido lo que considero los párrafos principales al español. Confío en que no estará demasiado decepcionado conmigo por esto.
Again, tonight I have only translated what I consider the main paragraphs into Spanish. I trust you will not be too disappointed in me for this.
As I said last night: “The primary point of difference in the Gospel of John is that John writes Jesus’ death as taking place at the same time as the lambs are being slaughtered for the Passover in the temple.”
Last night, I also said some people try to dismiss all the stories in all the Gospels because they find inconsistencies in the reports of Jesus death. Matthew, Mark, and Luke have a different agenda in telling the story of Jesus death. Their agenda is to highlight Jesus’ establishment of the Eucharist by means of the story of the Last Supper. John’s agenda is very different. This does not mean there are errors in ANY of them. It just means they wrote with different agendas.
John describes Jesus’ establishment of the Eucharist early in his gospel, in chapter 6, when he describes the “Bread of Life” teaching of Jesus. When he arrives at the last meal that Jesus shared with his disciples before his death, his agenda at that last supper is the teaching of being a servant by his washing the feet of his disciples, which we heard last night.
So, for John, when Jesus is arrested, he is arrested in the night before the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in the temple. Now, let’s take a look at some of the scenes in the story.
Jesus says to Peter in the garden, after Peter has struck Malchus: “Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?” There are many cups of wine that are served during a Passover meal. In the other Gospels, Jesus hands off to his disciples the last cup, but does not drink from it. In fact, he says he will not taste the fruit of the vine again until he drinks it new in the Kingdom of his Father. But, note he takes wine again, from the cross, and then says “it is finished!” So Jesus is linking his death on the cross intimately to the Passover celebration that is happening in Jerusalem at the same time. He is also pointing out that the Kingdom of his Father is breaking into the world – as Jesus is dying. His death is overthrowing the kingdom of Satan.
Jesús le dice a Pedro en el jardín, después de que Pedro golpeó a Malco: “¿No voy a beber el cáliz que me ha dado mi Padre?” Hay muchas tazas de vino que se sirven durante una cena de Pascua. En los otros evangelios, Jesús da la mano a sus discípulos la última copa, pero no bebe de ella. De hecho, dice que no probará el fruto de la vid de nuevo hasta que lo beba nuevo en el Reino de su padre. Pero, tenga en cuenta que toma vino de nuevo, de la Cruz, y luego dice " Todo está cumplido." Así que Jesús está vinculando su muerte en la Cruz íntimamente a la celebración de la Pascua que está sucediendo en Jerusalén al mismo tiempo. También está señalando que el Reino de su padre está irrumpiendo en el mundo – como Jesús está muriendo. Su muerte está derrocando al Reino de Satanás.
Next, in order for a lamb to be used for the Passover it had to be without blemish. What did Pontius Pilate say? “I find no guilt in him.” It may be a different word, but the meaning is the same: no blemish, no guilt.
Next, preceding the time of the Passover, and Moses, we have the story of Abraham and his son Isaac. Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac. Interestingly, the mountain that he was going to sacrifice him on was the same mountain that Jesus died on. Another interesting connection: Abraham was told in the last moment not to sacrifice Isaac. Instead he was shown a ram stuck in a thorn bush. Jesus had a crown of thorns stuck on his head. Coincidence? I do not think so.
But let’s go back to the garden of Gethsemane. The crowd that came to arrested Jesus “turned away and fell to the ground” when Jesus said “I AM.” Of course, that is the sacred name of God which only the high priest was able to pronounce. And when Jesus, the true high priest, said those two words, the people who came to arrest him were reduced to nothing. Their strength failed them, and they fell to the ground. The point of this is that Jesus is in control of the entire set of events that was about to unfold leading all the way to the point where he said “it is finished.” These words, by the way, are the same words that would be pronounced at the end of the Passover meal by the father of the family. Again, coincidence? No way.
Pero volvamos al jardín de Getsemaní. La muchedumbre que vino a arrestar a Jesús "se alejó y cayó al suelo" cuando Jesús dijo "yo soy." Por supuesto, ese es el nombre sagrado de Dios que sólo el sumo sacerdote fue capaz de pronunciar. Y cuando Jesús, el verdadero sumo sacerdote, dijo esas dos palabras, la gente que vino a arrestarlo se redujo a nada. Su fuerza les falló, y cayeron al suelo. El punto de esto es que Jesús está en control de todo el conjunto de eventos que estaba a punto de desarrollarse conduciendo todo el camino hasta el momento en que dijo "está terminado." Estas palabras, por cierto, son las mismas palabras que se pronunciarían al final de la cena de la Pascua por el padre de la familia. ¿Otra vez, coincidencia? No es posible.
There are other parallels, or events from the Old Testament that could be brought forward to compare with the story of Jesus’ death. But I think these that I have mentioned are sufficient to show that when John wrote his gospel stories, his intention was to teach about Jesus being the fulfillment of the Old Testament. At the very beginning of John’s Gospel, we hear him lay out deliberately seven days, and on the seventh day is the wedding feast of Cana. Also note that John’s gospel begins with the same words that the book of Genesis begins with: “in the beginning”. None of this is coincidental. John is deliberately painting a picture for us that reveals the fullness of the Revelation of God through Jesus for the sake of our salvation.
His death reveals the fullness of the plan of God. The Passover celebrated by the Jews becomes the New Passover for the Christians. The death of Jesus sets us free from the slavery of sin, just as the death of the lambs set the Jews free from the slavery of Egypt. In Jesus God revealed the fullness of his plan; and the full authority and power that is his, even over death.
Su muerte revela la plenitud del plan de Dios. La Pascua celebrada por los judíos se convierte en la nueva Pascua para los cristianos. La muerte de Jesús nos libera de la esclavitud del pecado, así como la muerte de los corderos ha puesto a los judíos libres de la esclavitud de Egipto. En Jesús, Dios reveló la plenitud de su plan; y toda la autoridad y el poder que es suyo, incluso sobre la muerte.
Now, in these hours, every year, we take the time to be reminded of what it cost God to restore us to being his adopted children. There is a cute little line I remember hearing more than once: a child asked Jesus “how much do you love me?” And Jesus answered “this much” and he spread out his arms and died.
Ahora, en estas horas, cada año, nos tomamos el tiempo para recordar lo que le costó a Dios restaurarnos a ser sus hijos adoptivos. Hay una pequeña línea Linda que recuerdo haber oído más de una vez: un niño le preguntó a Jesús "¿Cuánto me amas?" Y Jesús contestó "tanto" y extendió sus brazos y murió. Amén.